Conviction
by superdoglac
Summary: After letting Jake go in the Grand Equinox Hunt, Rose flees the Huntsclan for her act is punishable by death. When Rose is captured by the Dragon Council, plans are made for her to be killed for being a slayer. Will she escape this fate? Post Season 1.
1. Chapter 1

**Takes place after the first season of AD:JL**

_She disappeared three weeks ago, two weeks and six days to be precise. But the sadness, the worry, has made it feel like a year, maybe longer. She let a dragon, me, go, I can't even imagine what the Huntsclan is doing to her. Is she dead, or worse, tortured for information she doesn't even have? Why did I have to be a dragon? Why Rose a slayer? Why did our lives even have to cross? _

Ever since that fateful day where Huntsgirl discovered her middle school crush was a dragon, let him go, and ran away, Rose was the only thing going on in Jake's mind.

_I had to be the American Dragon. She had to be a member of the Huntsclan. It like the world is playing a sick joke on the both of us. _

Jake was walking through Central Park, thinking. He seemed to go on periodic walks everyday now, it was the way he could try organize his thoughts, attempt to come up with solutions. It was 9:30 at night now. He had come from his Grandfather's shop where Jake and Lao Shi had a meeting with the Dragon Council. Jake was so out of focus the entire time, they believed he was getting ill, permitting him to go home early. But he didn't go home; he went for a walk instead.

Jake looked at his watch; it was far later than he thought. The meeting with the Council would definitely be over by now and he needed to get home before his parents began to worry about him. Jake turned around and started heading home when he felt the hairs on his neck go up, feeling like he was being watched. "Ear of the dragon," he muttered, and his human ear turned into that of a dragon's, giving him enhanced hearing. Everything was silent until he heard an uneasy breath come from the bushes to the right. He faced the bushes. "Whoever you are, come out. I don't want to hurt you unless it's necessary." There was another moment of silence and then a weak voice. "Please don't hurt me, I don't want to hurt you." A figure then rose from the bushes, revealing the girl he had been thinking of. "Rose," Jake whispered as if just saying her name would make her disappear.

There she was, in the flesh. Jake felt his heart leap, it was really her!

Rose's mask was off, her clothing tattered. She was dressed in her Huntsgirl outfit with her staff clutched in her right hand. She approached him, slowly, frightened that he would run away. "Jake, please I need your help." Jake looked her in the eye, curiosity getting the better of him. "What are you doing here?" he asked. "The Huntsclan is on the hunt for me, kill on sight, because I let you go. I've been on the run for weeks now, they're tracking me, just like they would do for a magical creature."

Voices came from the distance. "Sir, I believe I've found some of the Huntsgirl's clothing. There's a strip of cloth here, the same material we make our uniforms from."

Rose's eyes opened wide and her heart started pounding, she looked terrified. "Jake, I know what I've done throughout my life isn't right but do you think you can get me out of here?" Jake smiled coyly and his body became immersed in flames. Then, where the short boy once stood was a large, red dragon with wings, tail, claws and all. Rose stood there looking half scared, half amazed. It was going to take some time till she accepted that Jake was a dragon.

Jake got down on all fours. "Hop on." He took Rose's staff with his tail as she climbed onto the dragon's back, wrapping her arms softly around his neck. Jake let out his wings and began to flap furiously; within seconds they were stories above the ground. Below them, was the Huntsman surrounded by other clan members, obviously looking for something. Lucky for Rose and Jake, it was an incredibly dark night with little light from the moon and they weren't noticed in the sky.

They flew in silence, left to occupy their own thoughts. Rose was simply amazed as to how it felt to fly. Not chase magical creatures with her huntstaff's hover board, but to really fly. To have the breeze in her hair, the wind in her face; her first moment of calamity in weeks felt amazing.

After a few minutes Jake landed on the roof of his grandfather's shop. He let Rose slide off his back and then shape shifted back into his human form. They sat down next to each other on the edge of the roof, looking at the city beyond them. A few more moments of silence followed, the only sounds coming from the cars and people below.

This gave Jake time to actually to intently look at Rose for the first time. Her Huntsclan uniform was covered in tears and rips, underneath revealing deeps scratches and cuts caked with blood and deep purple bruises. She was also much skinnier than Jake remembered; she obviously hadn't eaten much since she disappeared. He then looked her right in the eye. She was no longer the tough, fearless warrior she once was. She now looked feeble and scared.

Jake scooted closer to her, wrapped his arms around her and pulled Rose onto his lap. This sweet act caused Rose to completely break down, warm tears streaming down her face. "I'm so sorry Jake, for everything."

**This is a rewrite of my first and only fic. I'm kind of using this as practice to see if I want to write more fanfics in the future. I haven't seen this show in a couple of years so forgive me if there are any plot points that don't line up with the actual show. **


	2. Chapter 2

Jake couldn't stand Rose crying. "It's okay, I forgive you," he said, pulling her closer.

Rose began the fight back the tears. A few moments later, she took a deep breath and began to speak. "It's just been, difficult, like I'm having an internal battle with myself. I've grown up my whole life thinking that magical creatures, especially dragons, were bloodthirsty, power-hungry, creatures that wanted nothing more than to eliminate humans from existence. We were taught that even through dragons could appear as humans, they weren't really people, they couldn't be in love, sad, or feel like real humans. It was just a defensive mechanism so that they could travel the world undetected by the Huntsclan." Rose smiled and shook her head. "But the moment I saw you transform from a dragon to a human, I realized that I was all wrong. You had friends, and family, you could laugh, be disappointed or," she paused, "love. Everything I ever learned about dragons, about the whole magical world, was a lie."

Jake let the words run in his mind before he spoke. "It's not your fault you felt that way. I mean, you were practically brain washed."

Rose looked down at her feet. "I guess. But that doesn't make the pain I caused magical creatures excusable. One day, I hope I get the opportunity to turn my life's wrongs into rights."

More silence. They just sat on the roof, Rose in Jake's arms, and enjoyed the other's presence, as well as the warm summer's night. Both were alive and for the moment, they were together.

Rose broke the silence. "The Huntsclan is doing everything in their power to find me, they want to use me as an example to anyone else who even thinks about letting a dragon go. I was lucky to have escaped the first time."

"What do mean escaped?" Jake asked puzzled.

"They had me captured in the first week, I was stupid and returned to my room to get clothing and supplies. The Huntsman set a trap in there, knowing I would return. They where going to torture me until I told them your identity or I died, whichever came first. That's where," she motioned towards her cuts and bruises, "I got these. Luckily for me, they underestimated my fighting power. I knocked out the guard who was escorting me to a torture session and stole his Huntstaff."

Jake looked her in the eyes again. "Wow, you really are amazing. Rose. I've never met a girl as strong-willed and brave live you. I think," he paused, "no, I know I love you."

She blushed. "I love you too Jake."

She drew her face close to his and they gave each other a soft kiss.

They pulled apart and Jake smiled dumbly. "This is so much better than that Dragon Council meeting." Rose went wide-eyed and stood up. "The Dragon Council, is here? In the city?"

Jake was nervous. "Rose, what's wrong with that, they don't know who you are. Just change out of your ninja outfit an-" She cut him off. "By now the Huntsclan must have leaked my human identity to the magical world. They do that to any clan member that flees, so that dragons can take care of them instead."

Jake didn't say anything; he didn't know what to say. His expression though, spoke a thousand words; he was terrified for what was about to happen.

Rose picked up her Huntstaff. "I have to leave New York, go somewhere remote, be gone long enough so they assume I'm dead or give up the hunt. I'm sorry to do this to you again Jake" she said solemnly.

Jake watched dumbfounded as she leapt onto the next building and ran away.

Rose was jumping from building to building. She knew Jake would never turn her into the Dragon Council, but in the off chance they spotted her, it wasn't worth the chance. They weren't forgiving at all to slayers, even if they had betrayed their clan. Besides, if the Hunstclan found her around Jake, it would be blandly obvious who the American Dragon was. She and Jake would be murdered the second their guard was down. 

She stopped on top of one of the buildings to catch her breath. "Stupid…defective…Huntstaff." she muttered to herself between breaths. In one of her close encounters with the Hunstclan she blocked a deadly blast with her staff. Unfortunately for her, it now didn't work the way it used to. The hover board feature could no longer activated and she had to travel everywhere by foot.

She was just about to start moving again when out of nowhere a ball of fire started coming down towards her. She skillfully rolled out of the way and the flame hit right where she was standing. Rose looked up in shock, only to see the two dragons flying above her.

She was surrounded by the two Councilor dragons, Kulde, the Norwegian Dragon, and Andam, the Kenyan Dragon (a third Councilor hadn't been found yet to replace Chang).

"Hello Huntsgirl." said Kulde coldly. "Or should I say, Rose Fisher of Millard Fillmore Middle School."

The huntress froze. "Well this isn't good."

**This is a little shorter than the last one. Sorry! But thank you for all of the reviews previously; I didn't expect to get seven for one chapter! **


	3. Chapter 3

Jake stood on the roof, playing back what just happened in his head. He then realized that he wouldn't rest until he knew she was somewhere safe, he didn't want to go back to a state of worrying and wondering whether or not she was okay. He made up his mind that he would follow and escort Rose to a safer area. His body immersed in flames once more and he flew in her direction.

It didn't take long until he knew where Rose was. In the pitch black of the night he saw orange flames and the iconic green glow of a Huntstaff's blast in the distance. "Oh no," he muttered. As fast as he could he flew in the battle's direction, but by the time he got there, it was already over. Councilor Andam was holding a net, containing just as Jake suspected, Rose.

He landed in front of them. "What happened?" Andam and Kulde both looked a little surprised. "American Dragon, I thought we sent to home to get your rest," said Kulde quizzically. "Well, I was on my way and then," Jake paused as Rose looked him in the eye, shaking her head. He needed to get on their good side first before arguing over her. "And I uhhh remembered I didn't do a nightly patrol. The AmDrag has to make sure the magical world is safe before he can sleep soundly."

Kulde smiled and nodded. "Ah, very good. Well, we were just on our way back to Draco Island when we saw the Huntsgirl standing on top of this building and being incredibly dangerous to the magical community w-" Rose cut him off immediately. "I'm not a threat. I wasn't traveling, I was running for my life because I let this dragon go and the Huntsclan is now after me. That's why I'm half starved and look like a truck ran me over."

Both Andam and Kulde just chuckled. "There's been a rumor going around that the Huntsclan had made plans for you to pretend to be on our side and learn our secrets so it's easier to slay more dragons," Andam said with humor in his voice. "And do you really expect the American Dragon to back you up with your lie that you let him go?" added Kulde.

"It's no lie," Jake said confidently. "She had me captured but at the last minute she changed her mind and let me go." Both Councilors fell silent. "It was just a ploy to gain your trust," said Andam, "the Huntsclan is smart, they would much rather let one dragon go to slay ten dragons in it's place. Besides she attacked us!"

Now Rose was furious, thrashing around in her net. "I didn't attack you! You attacked me! It was self-defense; my staff was set on stun, not kill! Besides, the Huntsclan started that rumor, for the sake of revenge! I've really changed! I found out Jake's identity, we were friends in school. I couldn't kill him, even if I was brainwashed to kill dragons!" She continued thrashing in her net, almost animal-like in her behavior. While her allegiance had changed, her ferociousness as a warrior hadn't.

xXxXxXxXx

Rose was trapped in the green laser cage in the back room of the electronics shop. She sighed.

"Was gonna happen sooner or later," she muttered to no one in particular. Jake slowly came down the stairs and walked over to Rose. "They're uh, on the roof discussing what to do with you. They wanted me to stay out of it." He kneeled beside her cage and stuck his hand through the bars. Rose took it but didn't say anything.

"Don't worry, I'll tell them everything that happened between us and our alter ego's and all," started Jake. "That way they'll understand and let you go. And if it doesn't go your way, I'll visit you every day in prison and they'll probably let you out early for good behavior or something an-" Rose cut him off again. "Jake do you know what the penalty is for being a member of the Huntsclan is?" Rose pulled off her glove and blankly looked at the dragon birthmark on her hand.

"No, what is it?"

"Death. No exceptions."

Rose started to cry again and this time Jake couldn't hold back his tears.

xXxXxXxXx

Jake and Rose stayed there silently, still holding hands. They were exhausted; it was way past midnight by now. A couple minutes later Lao Shi came into the room followed by the Dragon Council.

"I'm so sorry Jake," said his Grandfather. "There was nothing I could do."

The two councilors walked in front of Lao Shi. Andam looked at their hands, displaying both curiosity and disgust, asking, "Dragon Long, you are aware of the consequences of being a Huntsclan member?"

"Yes," Jake said quietly.

"Excellent. Do you know how the enemy is executed?"

"Well um no. Wouldn't it just be poison or…"

"Well, it is a tradition for the Huntsclan member to be executed by the dragon who typically fights them." Rose shivered at this, no one ever taught her _that_ at the Academy. "It sends a good message to the clan that if they slay us, we'll do the same to them."

Jake stood up, furious. "Do you both honestly expect me to kill someone? Someone I love?" Kulde and Andam both jerked at the word 'love' and eyed each other nervously. How could anyone love a slayer?

"You will have to learn to make some sacrifices. It's all a part of growing up and being the American Dragon" intervened Kulde firmly. "Do you really think she loves you back? You're simply only being used." With that, two trolls walked in and picked up Rose in her cage, forcing her to let go of Jake's hand. They left with her and the Council followed behind.

**Thank you for reading. :D And for all the nice reviews as well. :3 **


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